Jefferson County commissioners should correct a longstanding imbalance and combine two Justice of the Peace precincts to save taxpayers money. The upcoming retirement of Vi McGinnis presents a golden opportunity to bring more logic to the territory assigned to each JP.

If commissioners combine McGinnis' place 2 position in Precinct 1 with the place 1 seat now held by Ken Dollinger, the new precinct would be about the same size as Precinct 7 represented by Brad Burnett.

Dollinger agrees that the one JP can handle the workload just as Burnett does in Mid-County. Dollinger noted that much of the court's work is handled by staff, not the JP.

McGinnis has said she will not seek re-election after her current term ends on Dec. 31, 2010. An early decision on this matter would save time and money for the four people who have already announced plans to run for McGinnis' position.

More importantly, it would help the taxpayers. Each JP precinct should have a similar population, and the county shouldn't have any more JPs than it needs.